In institutional radiators/convectors and in radiators/convectors utilized in industrial establishments, it is not uncommon to provide along one of the pipes leading to a radiator/convector, a valve having a projecting portion which serves as a heat-control member. Thermostatic valves for this purpose include the Danfoss valve RA 2000 and like self-contained control valves for steam and hot water heating purposes.
Such valves are prone to damage in certain environments. For example, when the valves are used in radiators/convectors in schools or in classroom or gymnasium applications, the upstanding portion of the valve, i.e. the most sensitive part of the valve assembly, is frequently kicked intentionally or accidentally, stepped on, impacted by maintenance equipment or dropped articles, and is frequently damaged or destroyed, thereby rendering the valve inoperable and the radiator/convector useless. Repair and maintenance on such self-contained control valves is expensive.
Such valves may be used in commercial and industrial applications where they also may be subject to damage by vehicles riding along the floor of an industrial establishment, hand carts or the like and, indeed, the self-contained control valves can be provided in institutions and facilities, such as office facilities or environmental institutions, populated only by adults with a lesser frequency of damage but still a substantial danger to such valves.
Various attempts have been made to protect valves in the past and, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,265 describes an apparatus for locking a valve-actuating member of a control valve, utilizing a housing which is integral with a pair of legs fitting over the inlet and outlet fittings of the valve. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,844 a cage structure is described for protecting the valve of a pressurized air tank and in U.S. Pat. No. 1,186,733, a housing is provided to fit over a valve assembly. The stem of a valve can be locked in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 1,357,463 and a combination lock system for controlling the flow of fuel to an automobile engine can be provided in U.S. Pat. No. 1,307,194 with a housing which encloses the actuating member of a valve. A safety guard for a valve handle is found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,838,064 and a cage structure is provided for a propane cylinder in U.S. Pat. No. 2,945,294 and for an oxyacetyl set is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,858. Other devices of this general type are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,196, 5,092,359, 5,588,316 and 4,033,372.
While the valve locks and guards of these systems have specialized purposes and may be more or less successful for those purposes, none of them is readily adaptable to a Danfoss type self-contained control valve for a steam or hot water radiator/convector, particularly in school or like institutional applications.